In Delnorth Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Patents the Commissioner pursuant to s.97(2) of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) (“the Act”), re-examined the standard patent of Delnorth Pty Ltd (“Delnorth”) for roadside posts and exercised the power under s.101(1) of the Act to revoke a standard patent wholly or partially. A standard patent may be revoked under s.101(1) of the Act on the grounds that, when compared with the prior art base, it was not novel or it did not involve an inventive step. Delnorth appealed under s.101(4) of the Act, that the court should exercise de novo the power conferred on the Commissioner by s.101(1) of the Act. The issue that faced the Federal Court was whether Delnorth’s patent was invalid because it lacked an inventive
